Nonstop flight route between Spangdahlem, Germany and Gisborne, New Zealand:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Spangdahlem Air Base (SPM), Spangdahlem, Germany and Gisborne Airport (GIS), Gisborne, New Zealand would travel a Great Circle distance of 11,546 miles (or 18,581 kilometers).

A Great Circle is the shortest distance between 2 points on a sphere. Because most world maps are flat (but the Earth is round), the route of the shortest distance between 2 points on the Earth will often appear curved when viewed on a flat map, especially for long distances. If you were to simply draw a straight line on a flat map and measure a very long distance, it would likely be much further than if you were to lay a string between those two points on a globe. Because of the large distance between Spangdahlem Air Base and Gisborne Airport, the route shown on this map most likely appears curved because of this reason.

Try it at home! Get a globe and tightly lay a string between Spangdahlem Air Base and Gisborne Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Spangdahlem Air Base (SPM):

• In addition to being known as "Spangdahlem Air Base", another name for SPM is "Spangdahlem AB".
• The furthest airport from Spangdahlem Air Base (SPM) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,986 miles (19,289 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The Air Mobility Command 726th Air Mobility Squadron at Spangdahlem supports cargo and passenger traffic as part of its airlift mission, providing command and control, maintenance and aerial port capability to all AMC aircraft transiting their ramp.
• Spangdahlem Air Base has been a military presence in Germany for over five decades.
• The 23 TFS carried out tactical fighter training missions, while the 39 TEWS was a deployed squadron from Shaw AFB, South Carolina to conduct electronic warfare missions and train tactical reconnaissance and electronic warfare crews in Europe.
• The closest airport to Spangdahlem Air Base (SPM) is Bitburg Airport (BBJ), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) WSW of SPM.
• Upon its arrival at Spangdahlem AB, the 10 TRW operated Lockheed RF-80A Shooting Star for daylight aerial recon and the Douglas RB-26C Invader for night recon missions.

Facts about Gisborne Airport (GIS):

• Gisborne Airport (GIS) has 4 runways.
• Over the next five years, Eastland Group plans to maintain and upgrade the airports existing assets and expand its capabilities.
• The furthest airport from Gisborne Airport (GIS) is Alicante-Elche Airport (ALC), which is nearly antipodal to Gisborne Airport (meaning Gisborne Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Alicante-Elche Airport), and is located 12,353 miles (19,881 kilometers) away in Alicante, Spain.
• The closest airport to Gisborne Airport (GIS) is Whakatane Airport (WHK), which is located 77 miles (124 kilometers) NW of GIS.
• Because of Gisborne Airport's relatively low elevation of 15 feet, planes can take off or land at Gisborne Airport at a lower air speed than at airports located at a higher elevation. This is because the air density is higher closer to sea level than it would otherwise be at higher elevations.
• On 16 December 2004, Gisborne District Council voted to let Eastland Group manage the airport and lease the assets from 1 April 2005.